As I watch the IU - Kentucky game (what happened to the IU program?), I'm sipping on a 2005 Tin Roof, cabernet sauvignon. Short and light on the palate but offers a pleasant aroma and flavor. Probably worth a second try. Anybody else try this one?

Here's our take on our last visit to the Napa Valley: Don't go unless you expect to pay too much for wine tasting with little return on investment. The wineries we visited were charging between $12 and $25 to taste four to six wines. We shared each time. That's cost prohibitive. My recommendation is to stay in Sonoma County if you intend to wine taste. But go to Napa for the views--especially the Silverado Trail on the east side of the valley. The place can't be beat.

Icewine from donk

I opened the first bottle from my Secret Santa. A 2006 icewine by Inniskillin.
Tasting notes: medium to dark golden color; long legs on the glass; languishes long on the palate; high sugars, very sweet; lots of ripe citrus and apple flavors. Great dessert wine.

I opened the first bottle from my Secret Santa. A 2006 icewine by Inniskillin.
Tasting notes: medium to dark golden color; long legs on the glass; languishes long on the palate; high sugars, very sweet; lots of ripe citrus and apple flavors. Great dessert wine.

Recommended.

That is probably the better of the 2.

The other bottle has brandy mixed with it to keep it affordable.

Too lazy to beat myself up for being to lazy to beat myself up for being too lazy to... well you get the point....

I had a pretty good wine yesterday, a 2006 Borsao - Vina Borgia. I really am beginning to like Spanish wines more and more. Something about the depth is really hitting me right. It is Grenache from the Campo de Borja.

For about $7 it was a steal. The dry soil can be tasted in the deep raspberry tones and spice. It is constantly moving too. Drank it at dinner and it was different after dinner. I would say that it is a "drink now" wine, as I don't think it will be getting more complex (and it has a synthetic cork), but otherwise really quite good.

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AlexJake (my eldest son) just called me. He's up in Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County wine tasting with his girlfriend. The damn kid is out there dropping my name at wineries and getting free tasting and discounts on wine purchases.

So I think that I will be posting in this thread a bit more now that the wife has popped the baby out and can drink with me again.

I bought Wine by Joe- Pinot Gris 2006 yesterday on the advice of my wine guy. The name sounded fun and I do enjoy a good Pinot Gris. It is an Oregon winery that I guess is pretty popular (I have never heard of it)? I don't really get what all the fuss is about. I get all the regular stuff, green apples, vanilla and a decent amount of acidity, but really nothing that makes you go wow.

I would say for $14 you can do better. Anyone had better luck with "Wine by Joe"?

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams

Okay, I hafta ask....would using a synthetic cork prevent a wine from becoming more complex?

Very good question. The point of corkage (natural or synthetic), or any type of capping (including screw tops), is to keep oxygen away from the wine to prevent...oxidation!!! IMHO, how the wine is finished makes no difference in how the wine ages. There are some very expensive, high quality wines, from very reputable wineries that are on the market at this this time that are finished with screw tops. In fact, when ZG were out in Napa recently, one of the better wines we drank had a screw top.

It makes no difference except in the eyes of the consumer who view screw tops as "cheap". Their loss.

It makes no difference except in the eyes of the consumer who view screw tops as "cheap". Their loss.

I agree with you totally, but I don't think that a "decent" wine with a synthetic cork is as good as one with a natural cork. If you are planning on drinking the wine today, it does not matter. But for a "decent" wine, a natural cork will allow it to age with grace.

I don't have a problem with synthetic or screw cap personally; there are too many good wines to name with both, but I do think that a decent wine can get more complex as well. Will a $7 bottle get better, probably not, but a fair $15 bottle might.

And to answer Maister's question: yes synthetic corks will age a wine MUCH faster as they have been shown to allow more oxygen into the bottle over time than natural cork. This cannot be said for screwcap, which keeps oxygen out for longer. I agree that if you want to age a wine for a long time, a screwcap is probably the best way to age it.

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams

i think i need to invest in a wine rack. we keep hosting parties and have very generous friends who keep bringing us wine. the problem is we don't drink wine. so while we open a bottle or two at parties the amount coming in does not equal the amount consumed.

i suppose we could host a wine & cheese party just to get rid of some of the wine.

the latest party we netted 5 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of mead.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.-Martin Luther King Jr.

i suppose we could host a wine & cheese party just to get rid of some of the wine.

What time?

Originally posted by dandy_warhol

the latest party we netted 5 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of mead.

Mead? I've made a few batches of mead in my day. It's difficult to come by that stuff (can't just buy it at 'the store' around here - pretty much have to order it at the local gourmet shop) so I usually end up making it. It helps having connections with local apiaries too.

“As soon as public service ceases to be the chief business of the citizens, and they would rather serve with their money than with their persons, the State is not far from its fall”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Here's our take on our last visit to the Napa Valley: Don't go unless you expect to pay too much for wine tasting with little return on investment. The wineries we visited were charging between $12 and $25 to taste four to six wines. We shared each time. That's cost prohibitive. My recommendation is to stay in Sonoma County if you intend to wine taste. But go to Napa for the views--especially the Silverado Trail on the east side of the valley. The place can't be beat.

Oregon has free wine tasting!

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Mead? I've made a few batches of mead in my day. It's difficult to come by that stuff (can't just buy it at 'the store' around here - pretty much have to order it at the local gourmet shop) so I usually end up making it.

i believe the bottle said it was Cranberry Mead. that sounds interesting, I might have to try it.

Maybe this should go under the confessions thread I don't have a clue about wine, and most of this thread is way over my head. Have said this, I *love* wine. Mostly white, some sweeter reds. I just don't know much about the details.

trust me, i've thought about it. but i don't know if any of the wine we have is very good. i don't want to send you some cruddy wine.

i have realized that Yellow Tail seems to be the wine gift-of-choice.

Haw about my address? Hubby and I drink wine, too!

Yellow Tail - what specificly? Their Shiraz is pretty good - according to my red wine drinking Hubby - but their whites are a bit blah.

"We do not need any other Tutankhamun's tomb with all its treasures. We need context. We need understanding. We need knowledge of historical events to tie them together. We don't know much. Of course we know a lot, but it is context that's missing, not treasures." - Werner Herzog, in Archaeology, March/April 2011

Maybe this should go under the confessions thread I don't have a clue about wine, and most of this thread is way over my head. Have said this, I *love* wine. Mostly white, some sweeter reds. I just don't know much about the details.

That is the best part about wine. I started out as a white zin drinker, worked my way to whites, and then worked my way around reds. I think wine is a lot like life: you can do what you want with it, you are always right, and in the end if it makes you feel good do it

I think the details only enhance wine for me. Knowing how the wine was made is fun and understanding why the wine is good for my palette allows me to drink more wine that I like, or at least be able to guess whether I will like it or not.

We should start a Cyburbia wine of the month club. Wines in certain price ranges are bought and shipped to people every month or so. Hmm this could be good Although shipping wine to some states is almost impossible. So if you live in one of those states I guess you have to go across the border to get your wine. We will set up a PO Box for all of you

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams